KEY POINTS:
Tom Ashley, New Zealand's leading chance in the Olympic boardsailing, won't be bothered but there is a man racing against him in the RS:X class whose good name could be gravely affected by the outcome.
If Britain's Nick Dempsey doesn't win gold, he could henceforth be known as
Nick Ayton. That's because Dempsey's fiancée is Sarah Ayton, skipper of the British Yngling crew known forever as Three Blondes In A Boat after their exploits in Athens - and because they have made an unusual bet.
Dempsey and Ayton have been an item for nearly 10 years, after meeting at a school yachting regatta, and plan to marry after the Beijing Olympics.
Britain expects big things at this regatta and you get a hint of their confidence when Ayton and Dempsey geed themselves up with the strange bet: If one of them won gold and the other didn't, the one who didn't would have to take the surname of the one who did.
If both win gold or both fail, the bet is off.
However, after the first four races of the RS:X event, Dempsey is in grave danger of becoming Nick Ayton, as he has a way to go to the gold while Ayton's crew lead the gold medal race in their class.
"The biggest challenge for Nick and me now is that whoever wins gold keeps their family name," says Ayton. "So, we could be known in the future as Mr and Mrs Nick Ayton".
She's not saying if she will enforce the edict if Dempsey, who is currently fifth overall going into the seventh and eighth races out of 10 today, can't win his class.
Ayton is the skipper of the British Yngling after the skipper from Athens, Shirley Robertson, retired and is now a yachting commentator for the BBC. However, her replacement is yet another blonde, Pippa 'The Nipper' Wilson, so named because she is the youngest in the boat, according to yachting tradition.
The Three Blondes In A Boat are also being the three best in their boat, leading the Yngling rankings after nine of their 10 races. However, they are being pushed hard by an energetic and skilled Dutch crew and the gold medal is no certainty for the Three Blondes yet.
After 10 races, the top 10 race for the medals, with all points being carried forward but the medal race counts for double points and the Britons are not so far ahead of the Dutch they cannot be caught.
